Craig Spencer

Ebola alarmism in the U.S. reached new heights in October when Dr. Craig Spencer became the first patient to be diagnosed in New York City: the deadly disease was in the country’s most densely packed metropolis.

But when Spencer, now free of the virus, addressed reporters on Nov. 11, he urged the world to turn its focus back to West Africa, where more than 5,000 have died–a toll that puts the panic over four diagnoses and just one fatality in the U.S. into stark relief. “Today I am healthy and no longer infectious,” Spencer said.

Ebola has no antidote, but officials said Spencer was treated with a combination of therapies that have been successful with other U.S. patients. They are still monitoring people he had contact with during his travels around the city before his diagnosis, movement that raised alarm and included a trip to a Brooklyn bowling alley. “Please join me in turning the attention back to West Africa,” Spencer said.

Advocates share the sentiment. While it’s too early to declare that the U.S. has beaten Ebola, with Spencer’s recovery there are no known cases. But officials warn that without further efforts to contain the deadliest outbreak ever at its source, Ebola could traverse an interconnected globe again.

–ALICE PARK